Results 51 to 60 of 72

Thread: A few tips for brand-new OTers

Threaded View

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Lost in Space
    Posts
    7,183

    Default The OTD Manual (for Newcomers)

    Many of the newer posters of the Off-Topic discussion have stumbled and fallen, some because of the lack of knowledge about the rules found in each forum, sheer stupidity, or just overlooked and repeated mistakes that everybody else sees and gets mad at.


    So, with credits going to Pieman's post for the first parts of this post until the "Formation of new ideas" section, and after some substantial editing and a lot of additions, I give you at least a partial guide, which can be amended through the times, for new citizens of the Off-Topic Discussion.

    I present to you below, the OTD Manual for Newcomers.


    Posting in general

    1. It's not that we do not like new members, we dislike those who post carelessly, and so look less intelligent than they are, or want themselves to appear. Sometimes, this could be considered spamming, which is hated by the community in general. However, you may still be posting according to the topic, but saying stupid things that, although don't violate the rules, heavily damage the public opinion of yourself.


    Creation of threads

    1. The best way to know you have a good thread, is if you can picture it as its own forum. Would you go to a forum about sig bunnies?? It goes nowhere, it's impossible to reply to (without flaming), and it is just ignorant. Threads are bigger than posts. You wanna go post the bunny thing in the Kings Bar, you can see what those guys think of it...

    2. Free rep... threads about giving rep have been shunned from the beginning. People must earn their own rep from others... asking for it is ignorant by itself. Asking for it in a thread... that's just moronic material.


    The grammatical content of your threads and posts.


    1. Using grammar correctly will make you seem like a more complex person, and make you appear to the public as a very intelligent person.

    2.
    Capital letters are paramount in your posts, and even more so in your thread titles. People coming onto this forum are generally expected to do this, more by default than anything, because it is basic to your posts. Not doing so can make you appear as something no better than a kindergartener.

    3. NEVER post sentence fragments. Full and complete thoughts are needed in your posts, in order to really be taken seriously by others.

    4. Run-on sentences are harder to spot, but much harder to read, and once recognized, make you look bad. Talking for a long time and not using any punctuation in between could cause people to laugh at how dumb the sentence really looks. This is because it is so long and loses its meaning, so nobody cares to give their own intelligent responses to your post, thereby damaging your reputation as a forum poster.

    5.Use your punctuation correctly. It will save you time and grief in the future, and also make your sentences take on that clarity that we OTers love so much.


    Spelling

    1.
    Lots of people here use abbreviations like "ppl" and "pm" and the public in general does not mind that in informal threads in general.

    But misspelling "were" when it should be "where" or abbreviating it is just pure ignorance. For example, misspelling "letter" and saying "later" instead does not become you, and you come off as a bit less intelligent than you really are.

    Now, I know many people use those abbreviations. However, to clarify your writing, say "Private Message" and "people" instead of "PM" and "ppl," and other people will know what you are saying.

    2. Use proper spelling in your words, no matter how long or tedious they are. If you don't know how to spell a word, say so, find a synonym for it, or abbreviate it CORRECTLY if possible.

    Consistently misspelling words is probably more damaging to your reputation than anything else is, so be careful what you say.



    Formation of ideas


    As you full-well know, this is the Off-Topic Discussion, so any idea is possible, although not every idea is a good one to post. So there is only a couple of rules about it.

    1. THINK BEFORE YOU POST!!!! I cannot put it any more clearly. If you post something completely inept on the forum people will see it. If you create a thread that is completely inept people will REALLY see it.

    Also, this rule will eliminate most of your spelling and grammar issues as well. Please, for your own sake, if not for everyone else's, put at least some thought into what you are saying.

    Consistent failure to do so will heavily damage your reputation on these forums.


    Even if you quote someone, think about what it is they are trying to say to you before you put their post in yours in order to respond to it. Not doing so will possibly make a fool out of the person you are misquoting, and even worse, may make you look like a complete fool yourself. not doing this can also make the entire community dislike you.

    2. READ BEFORE YOU POST!!!! I cannot stress this rule more. Somone may have just said something, and when you say the exact same thing you look either like a copycat or someone who doesn't actually care what he is talking about.

    I cannot stress this more with threads. If you repeat a very recent idea in a new thread, or actually create a thread just like an already existing one, it will attract bad comments like a magnet.

    I have seen this happen to many a poster before. And they wonder why they are being flamed and even veteran posters are "spamming" their thread? Because they didn't even skim the forum, much less read it, before they throw their ideas out there.

    That is the whole reason why a "reply" button is there. So that people, after reading your post, can intelligently respond to it.

    Even on these game threads, much less the ones that allow you, and even make you post silly and inept things, require you to not only be creative, but also read the above person's post before doing anything.

    The only exception that comes to the top of my mind is the Ban Game, but even that requires you to regard the above person. Even the "Teh Bleh" thread does that. You have to at least try to understand what the above guy is actually saying before you say something yourself.

    Quoting also applies to this rule as much as the previous one. If you don't read a person's post thoroughly, and you quote it, and respond with a laugh or a serious remark, and they intend it otherwise, this could be most offensive to the Original Poster (otherwise own commonly as the OP)

    Please read and ponder a person's post before you quote it for any reason. There may be a hidden message in there that can be easily seen if only read.


    for the rest of the guide, please go to page two to find the other two parts for it. Thank you very much.
    Last edited by Cosmic Fury; 02-21-2010 at 05:37 PM. Reason: expansion

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •